Do Hospital Awards Drive Consumer Decisions?

2018 National Consumer Survey: Value of Hospital Awards Results

A Strategic Health Care Marketing webinar on demand for health care marketers, communicators, and strategists.

Your Presenters:

• Craig Fairfield, Managing Director, Wax Custom Communications
• Amanda Herriman, Marketing Manager, Wax Custom Communications

Duration: 60 Minutes

Sponsored by Wax Custom Communications
This event is free for Strategic Health Care Marketing members to view thanks to our event sponsor.

Watch now »

Why Clarity in Patient Communications Is Essential

Studies show that patients do better when they understand their health and treatments and can speak frankly with their health providers and caregivers. Patient advocacy groups encourage talking in plain language, using everyday words, and speaking in easily understandable terms. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act defines health literacy as the degree to which Read More

View from the C-Suite: Andrey Ostrovsky, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Behavioral Health at Solera Health

// By Sheryl S. Jackson // Editor’s Note: In our “View from the C-Suite” series, our goal is to share the insights of health care leaders from across the leadership spectrum — CEOs to CFOs to CMOs and more. In this article, the CMO we’re referring to is the chief medical officer. This story profiles Read More

How Two Patient-Centric Organizations Prioritize Health Literacy

// By Wendy Stark Healy // Studies show that patients do better when they understand their health and treatments and can speak frankly with their health providers and caregivers. Patient advocacy groups encourage talking in plain language, using everyday words, and speaking in easily understandable terms. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act defines health Read More

Are You Paying Enough Attention to Physician Engagement?

With a predicted shortage of physicians over the next several years, and increasing concern over physician burnout, a group of savvy thought leaders are focusing on improving physician satisfaction and engagement. Physicians are responsible for making most decisions related to patient care. Yet medical staff members often aren’t involved in the broader decision-making process around Read More

Why Physician Engagement Is an Essential Part of Your Health System’s Equation

// By Lisa D. Ellis // With a predicted shortage of physicians over the next several years, and increasing concern over physician burnout, a group of savvy thought leaders are focusing on improving physician satisfaction and engagement. Physicians are responsible for making most decisions related to patient care. Yet medical staff members often aren’t involved Read More

Health Care Value: Moving Toward Affordable, Sustainable Care Delivery Models

We recently sat down with Priya Bathija, vice president of AHA’s Value Initiative, and Brian Griffin, SHSMD’s senior editorial specialist, to learn about the program, its scope, and its goals. Launched in December 2017, the Value Initiative’s mission is to be a change agent and provide thought leadership to the hospital industry as it moves Read More

AHA’s Value Initiative: Convener and Catalyst for Change

// By Jane Weber Brubaker // At the 2018 SHSMD conference in Seattle, we sat down with Priya Bathija, vice president of AHA’s Value Initiative, and Brian Griffin, SHSMD’s senior editorial specialist, to learn about the program, its scope, and its goals. Launched in December 2017, the Value Initiative’s mission is to be a change Read More

The Three R’s of Using Internal Advertising to Create a Cultural Change in a Health Care Organization: Repetition, Refreshment, and Recognition

Notable Health Care Advertising In a hospital setting, changing employee routines and behaviors can save lives — but the change may call for altering the entire institutional culture. A memo to staff likely won’t work. What will? Signature Healthcare discovered some of the answers, involving an internal advertising campaign that began in 2015 and is Read More

Length of Stay: An Increasingly Obsolete Metric?

Length of stay (LOS) is the duration of an inpatient episode of care, calculated from day of admission to day of discharge, and based on the number of nights spent in hospital. By tracking LOS, hospitals seek to improve processes and prevent errors, which ultimately lowers costs. But for Anne Arundel Medical Center, a 350-bed Read More

Is Length of Stay Still a Valid Measure in a Value-Based World?

// By Althea Fung // At the 2018 SHSMD Connections conference in Seattle, SHSMD convened a series of presentations on value as part of its “Value Initiative.” What does value mean for health care organizations? How can they achieve it? One of the presenters, Jessica Farrar, director of strategic planning and decision support at Anne Read More

How Health Care Marketers Can Boost Population Health Efforts

“As health care marketers, we are keenly aware of the rampant changes taking place in our industry — unforeseen mergers and consolidations, aggressive competitors entering the marketplace, pressures to demonstrate measurable ROI, and reorientation from delivering acute or episodic care to managing the health of a population with the goals of improving health and reducing Read More

Rowing Together: A Collaborative Approach to Promoting Behavior Change

// By Susan Dubuque //  As health care marketers, we are keenly aware of the rampant changes taking place in our industry — unforeseen mergers and consolidations, aggressive competitors entering the marketplace, pressures to demonstrate measurable ROI, and reorientation from delivering acute or episodic care to managing the health of a population with the goals Read More

Consolidated Call Center Dials Up Benefits for LifeBridge Health

// By Lisa D. Ellis // When a patient experiences a life-threatening emergency at LifeBridge Health in Baltimore, help is summoned through automated notifications from the centralized call center, which sends a message right to members of the response team’s phones. This is one of the many benefits that care teams experience, thanks to LifeBridge’s Read More

Health Care Marketers’ Important Role in Addressing Mental Illness

The tragic suicides of fashion designer Kate Spade and television personality Anthony Bourdain have thrust mental health issues into the limelight, catching the attention of people from all walks of life. Further, the recent rash of shootings in schools and at public events both in the U.S. and abroad have also raised widespread awareness about Read More

Tackle Physician Burnout with Proactive Solutions

Physician burnout is a hot topic, but effective solutions have been more elusive. In March 2017, 10 CEOs of the nation’s most prominent health systems examined physician burnout, proposing an 11-item call to action (Health Affairs). In a new article, Susan Emerson, senior vice president of strategic planning and business development at Private Health News/MedNews Read More

Physician Well-Being — Moving from Whispers in the Hallway to Support

// By Susan Emerson // Physician burnout is a hot topic, but effective solutions have been more elusive. In March 2017, 10 CEOs of the nation’s most prominent health systems examined physician burnout, proposing an 11-item call to action (Health Affairs). The Collaborative for Healing and Renewal in Medicine published an eight-step framework this year Read More

6 Ways Health Care Marketers Can Help Address Mental Illness in the Primary Care Setting — and Improve Their Organizations’ Bottom Line

// By Lisa D. Ellis // In recent months, stories about mental illness have dominated social media channels and the mainstream press. The tragic suicides of fashion designer Kate Spade and television personality Anthony Bourdain have thrust mental health issues into the limelight, catching the attention of people from all walks of life. Further, the Read More

Fixing the Hole: Using Data and Technology to Reduce Preventable Patient Referral Leakage

// By Althea Fung // Picture this: A patient goes to her primary care physician with complaints of dark, dry skin patches on her arms. The doctor, who is a staff physician at a large health system in New York City, quickly determines that she has acanthosis nigricans and prescribes a topical ointment. The doctor Read More

How To Navigate The New World of Health Care Cost Transparency

You probably wouldn’t buy an appliance or book a cruise without knowing what it will cost. Yet historically, health care systems have expected patients to undergo various diagnostic tests, procedures, and treatments without any idea of what they will be charged. But times are changing quickly. While most patients are not yet comparison-shopping based on Read More

It’s a Buyer’s Market: What Health Systems Should Know About Cost Transparency

// By Lisa D. Ellis // You probably wouldn’t buy an appliance or book a cruise without knowing what it will cost. Yet historically, health care systems have expected patients to undergo various diagnostic tests, procedures, and treatments without any idea of what they will be charged. But times are changing quickly. Today, as consumers Read More

Align With Your Medical Staff for Optimal Results

Is your organization truly on the same page as your physicians? If not, you may be missing important opportunities to maximize the quality and costs of the care you provide. Poor alignment among management and medical staff can cost you greatly—in lower patient satisfaction, lower physician retention, and reduced profit margins. “The relationship between physicians Read More

Doctor’s Orders: A Prescription for Getting Management and Physicians on the Same Page

// By Lisa D. Ellis // Is your organization truly on the same page as your physicians? If not, you may be missing important opportunities to maximize the quality and costs of the care you provide. Poor alignment among management and medical staff can cost you greatly—in lower patient satisfaction, lower physician retention, and reduced Read More

Huddle Up for Customer Service Success

Think back to the last time you went to a restaurant or store, and your server or sales clerk took the time to ask how your day was going or made an effort to form a personal connection. This probably made you feel welcome and left you with a favorable impression of the establishment. Incorporating Read More

Huddle Up: How This Structured Technique Can Bring About Cultural Change and Improve Patient Experience

// By Lisa D. Ellis // Think back to the last time you went to a restaurant or store, and your server or sales clerk took the time to ask how your day was going or made an effort to form a personal connection. This probably made you feel welcome and left you with a Read More